Bookish Quotes: The school library

When I listened to this passage from Breath by Tim Winton, I was reminded of my own adventures in the school library, although I never found a boyfriend there (my lack of success with men started early!). For me, the stories I read taught me about the lives of people in times gone by. I remember devouring as many Jean Plaidy novels I could, learning all about queens of England. How about you? What do you remember learning about from the books in your school library?

The quote comes from pages 77-79.

I did my share of whining when the new school year began, but in truth I didn't really mind going back. There was no more swell that summer, no opportunity to test myself any further, and the days began to hang heavy. Within a week of the term commencing, I rediscovered the aisles and recesses of the Angelus school library. There was nothing like it in Sawyer and the only other collection of books I'd seen was out at Sando's. During my first year of high school I'd turned to reading as a kind of refuge, but that second year it became a pleasure in its own right.

I started with Jack London because I recognized the name from Sando's shelves. After I saw Gregory Peck gimping across the poop deck on telly I tried Moby Dick, though I can't say I got far. I found books on Mawson and Shackleton and Scott. I read accounts of Amundsen's race south against the English and the ruthlessness that made all the difference. I tried to imagine the Norwegian eating the very dogs that hauled him to the Pole - something harsh and bracing about the idea appealed to me. I read about British commandos, the French Resistance, about the specialized task of bomb disposal. I found Cousteau and then mariner-authors who recreated the voyages of the ancients in craft of leather and bamboo. I read about Houdini and men who had themselves shot from cannons or tipped in barrels over Niagara Falls. I fed on lives that were not at all ordinary, about men who in normal domestic circumstances might be viewed as strange, reckless, unbalanced. When I failed to get more than sixteen pages into the Seven Pillars of Wisdom I thought the failure was mine.

It was there in the stacks that I met the girl who decided without consultation that I was her boyfriend. She was a farm girl from further out east and she boarded at the dreaded hostel. Like me, she came to the library to escape, but she was already bookish. Her name was Queenie. She was handsome and wheat-haired, with the slightly intimidating shoulders of a competitive swimmer, and there was plenty about her to like, yet I suspect I only really liked her because she liked me first. Although I did very little to encourage such baffling interest, I somehow got used to it, and even came to expect it. She slagged off my books of manly derring-do while I razzed her for her taste in stories about crippled girls overcoming cruel odds with the aid of improbably gifted animals.

Sunday Salon: 2014 Reading Resolutions

I realised last night that if I was going to still post my reading resolutions for this year in the first month of the year, I really needed to get a move on and write this post today! It is Australia Day here though, so I have plans involving a beach and a barbecue so I had best get on with it!

I have been thinking about what my goals are going to be for this year and I did have quite a few that I was contemplating. Most years, they are pretty similar. Read more Aussie authors, read some of the books I own, read a classic etc, but I think I am gooing to keep it pretty simple this year.

I set my Goodreads reading goal at 200 books for the year but I already know I am not going to make that goal. Goodreads is very helpfully telling me that I am already 7 books behind target and it isn't even the end of January yet! A couple of years ago I read 290, last year was 220 but as I mentioned in my wrap up for last year, I can quite clearly see a drop in my reading which corresponds with starting to drive to work rather than catching the train (and possibly with playing stupid Facebook games too!) I think 150 is a more realistic target, but even that might be stretching it a bit!

In terms of the challenges that I am participating in, at this stage it is the Australian Women Writer's Challenge and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Last year I made the HF challenge for myself by saying that I am only counting Australian authors for it, but I don't think I will restrict myself in that way this year. I have a hard enough writing reviews for any books I read let alone placing additional restrictions on myself!  I am planning to participate in Carl's challenges as usual (although I have managed to completely miss the Sci-Fi Experience already), and I am contemplating an audiobook challenge but I think that will be about it!

See, keeping it really simple this year!

Have you set your reading resolutions for this year? Do you have lots of goals or just a couple?

Currently Reading

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett and listening to Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Up Next

Jack of Fables

Weekend Cooking: Honey Chicken with Stir Fried Greens

Remember last week when I said that I had two easy every day meals that I wanted to post on my blog but that I couldn't remember what the second one was! Finally, two days later I remembered what it was, and then I kicked myself a little because this is a recipe that I have cooked numerous times since I found it! It is definitely a new favourite in my house.

The title of the recipe is a little misleading really because on the Taste website where I found the recipe it is called Honey Chicken with Stir Fried Greens, but the char siu sauce is a much more dominant flavour than the honey which is fortunate for me because I don't really like honey.

To be honest, I haven't really cooked it exactly as it appears here. I tend not to do the stir fried greens but rather steam some broccoli and serve that with the rice and chicken. I also tend to cook it in the oven rather than grill it or barbecue it. I am thinking that I might try to make it with some pork next time as the flavours should still work well together with that. In the notes it suggests that you could also do it with fish, but I am not sure that the flavour wouldn't overwhelm the fish. Maybe I will try it someday.


Honey Chicken with Stir Fried Greens


60ml (1/4 cup) char siu sauce
2 tbs honey
1 tbs kecap manis
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1kg small chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed
Olive oil spray
1 bunch gai lan (Chinese broccoli), trimmed, cut into thirds crossways
2 tsp water
Steamed rice, to serve
Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve


1. Combine the char siu sauce, honey, kecap manis, sugar, sesame oil and garlic in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate. Preheat grill on high. Line a baking tray with foil. Lightly spray with olive oil. Transfer the chicken to the tray. Cook under grill for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked through and caramelised.

2. Meanwhile, preheat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray with olive oil. Stir-fry the gai lan for 1 minute. Add water. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until gai lan is bright green and tender crisp.

3 Divide rice among serving bowls. Top with chicken, gai lan and coriander.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Library Loot: January 21 to 27

Not much loot to share this week! In fact, it is a bit of an odd loot really. There are two CDs, which is not that odd but then there is a book which is one that I just listened to on audio so I am not going to actually read it!

Here's what I got

Breath by Tim Winton - I actually listened to this book over the last week or so but I needed to borrow it so that I can find a quote from it. It is too hard to transcribe a long quote from the audio! Basically, I will be finding the quote and then returning both versions to the library pretty much straight away.

Tribute by John Newman - When it comes to music I am a bit all over the place. I am a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and at the moment I am a LOT dance music. I love the song Love Me Again and I am seriously tempted to try and get it as my ring tone..one day.

Home by Rudimental - I really like the song Free off of this album but  now I take a closer look at the song list I notice that there are several John Newman collaborations on this one too!

Linda has Mr Linky this week so head to her blog to share your library loot links.

Here's Love Me Again

 

Weekend Cooking: Spanish Tuna Pasta Bake

I mentioned in my Weekend Cooking post a couple of weeks ago that I had a couple of new recipes that we had eaten quite a few times that were quick and easy to make. Unfortunately, I think I need to have some more brain food because I cannot for the life of me remember what the second recipe was. That means that it is even more important for me to save it here now before I forget this one too!

I have really enjoyed having this one as it is a way to eat some fishy food (which my son generally won't eat), it is a nice alternative to a creamy style tuna mornay, and the mixture of the parmesan and mozzarella on top is soooo delicious! It is an added bonus that it reheats pretty well too

The only thing is that I don't include the olives because I don't really like them that much, and I sometimes mix some chilli through too.

Spanish Tuna Pasta Bake

250g dried large pasta shells
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 large red capsicum, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped
2 x 185g cans tuna in oil, drained, flaked
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Lightly grease an 8 cup-capacity baking dish. Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and capsicum. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion has softened. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

3. Add tomato. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Add pasta, olive and tuna. Toss to combine. Season with pepper. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Top with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Serve.

Easy, relatively quick and tasty!

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Library Loot: January 15 to 21

Well now. This is a bit weird.

For the first time in years I am participating in Library Loot but I am not co-hosting. I wanted to say thanks to Linda from Silly Little Mischief who volunteered when we said that we were looking for a new co-host.

Also a bit weird....I have been a bad library patron. Not only have I not been borrowing any books I was also being slack in returning them so I have had numerous books overdue and got a big fine to boot, but I think I will be back on track now.

Here's the loot I got this week:

Merle's Country Show Baking by Merle Parrish - Somewhere in this house, but I don't know precisely where, I have Merle's first cookbook (which I reviewed a couple of years ago).  I liked lots of the recipes that were in her original book so I am looking forward to spending some time looking through this cookbook too.

Bellagrand by Paullina Simons - Whilst I was a bit disappointed by Children of Liberty, I still consider myself to be a Paullina Simons fan so there was no doubt I would read this book which follows on from Children.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - Reloot.

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - I listened to the audiobook of Wolf Hall at the end of last year and loved it. Unfortunately my library didn't have the audio of this follow up book so I will just have to read it!

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews - I was chatting with some people about audiobooks on Twitter the other day, and the narrator of this series was recommended. My library has the audio of books later in the series but my compulsive need to read in order means that I need to start by reading this one.

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta - I listened to the first book in this series but this is another one where the library doesn't have the second book on audio so I will have to read this one too. It is a much thicker book than I expected it to be!

Breathe by Tim Winton - I have only ever read one Tim Winton book and I wasn't all that fussed by it so I thought it was time to read another and see if this one works for me a bit better. This is one that I am going to listen to on audio. I have been without an audiobook for a few days and I can't tell you what a relief it is to have another one to listen too.

Native by OneRepublic - I love that you can borrow CDs from our library, and have several on request at the moment.

Head over to Claire's blog to share your Library Loot link.

Here's a song from the album

Weekend Cooking: What Katie Ate: recipes and other bits and bobs by Katie Quinn Davies

When it comes to cookbooks is there anything better than sitting down and looking through a gorgeous book with great production values including a style that has obviously been thought through to the last detail and gorgeous photos of food? If, like me, you enjoy spending time flicking through such a book then What Katie Ate by Katie Quinn Davie might just be a book for you. I have included a photo of a page below to give you a small idea of the production values of the book.

As an object, this is a gorgeous cookbook. You can feel the quality of the paper, there is a lovely black and white striped ribbon as a bookmark (I am a sucker for any book with a ribbon bookmark in it), the old style font and the photos come together beautifully. Katie Quinn Davies background was as a graphic designer in her native Ireland. She moved to Australlia and eventually decided that she wanted a career change. After a few false starts she decided to combine her skills as a designer with her love of food. She started a blog and in due course this book was born.

In answer to the question that I asked at the beginning of the post, the answer is yes, there is something better, and that is looking through a gorgeous looking cookbook that you will actually be able to cook multiple recipes from, and this is where I suspect this book falls down a little.

You can tell from the way that she talks about food that Katie Quinn Davies loves food, but she loves more exotic flavours than I would nornally serve up on a day to day basis. I also don't necessarily think that the recipes included are great for weeknight cooking. There is one recipe that she specifically said was a good weekday meal but when I looked at the instructions, it said that the cooking time was about an hour and a half. If I had to come home from work, do food prep and then wait for something to cook for that long I am pretty sure that I would probably faint from hunger and there would be an uproar from the other person who lives in my house.

Having said that, I did actually find a number of recipes that I would potentially like to try at some point, or at least I would if I didn't have to return the book to the library. Some of those include:

Chorizo and potato salad with rocket and manchego shavings
Parmesan cookies with roasted tomato and pesto
Mini pork, apple and pistachio sausage rolls
Shepherd's pie with roasted garlic and cheesy mash topping
Lemon chicken with herbed rice
Mick's pork and red wine lasagne
Sticky chicken with sesame and chilli
Barbecued sweetcorn with chilli, mint and lime butter
Easy chocolate cake**

**Although it doesn't look anywhere near as easy as my normal chocolate cake recipe which I have posted before.

I thought I would share a recipe from the book today. Over the last few months we have been cooking Bill Granger's lemon stuffed roast chicken and loving it. That is basically a chicken stuffed with a whole lemon and a bunch of herbs, which means that the chicken stays really moist. Because lemon seems to be my flavour of the moment, I was immediately attracted to the recipe for Roast Chicken with Lemon Cream Gravy, which seems like a next step compared to the chicken we have been cooking. I might try it next time I have guests over for dinner....maybe.

Roast Chicken with Lemon Cream Gravy

Serves 4

1.5kg free range chicken (organic if possible)
3 large knobs of butter, at room temperature
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 lemons, cut in halfs or quarters
2 pieces preserved lemon
3 bulbs garlic, 1 separated into cloves, 2 cut in half lengthways
4 sprigs rosemary
Olive or vegetable oil , for drizzling
2 cups (500ml chicken stock
1 cup (250ml) cream
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (add approx 20C for non fan-forced)

Place the chicken on a clean worktop and, using your hands, gently loosen the skin from the breast, creating a gap between the skin and meat.

Take 2 large knobs of softened butter and gently push it between the skin and meat, rubbing it into the meat. Take the remaining butter and massage it all over the chicken skin. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper and transfer to a large frameproof roasting tin.

Place four lemon halves or quarters into the cavity, along with the preserved lemon, half the unpeeled garlic cloves and one or two sprigs of rosemary. Scatter the remaining lemon halves or quarters, unpeeled garlic cloves and the halved garlic bulbs around the bird and toss the leaves from the remaining rosemary sprigs all over the bird. Season again with salt and pepper and drizzle with a good glug of olive or vegetable oil.

Transfer the roasting tin to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, then, using a pair of tongs, squeeze the juice from the roasted lemons in the tin all over the chicken. Roast for a further 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (to test this, pierce the thigh part with a skewer and press the juices out onto a spoon: if they are clear, the chicken is ready). Remove from the oven, then transfer the chicken to a serving platter, loosely cover with foil and leave it to rest for 10 minutes while you make the gravy.

Place the roasting tin on the stovetop over low heat, add the chicken stock and bring to a low simmer. Using a balloon whisk, incorporate the roasting juices into the stock, scraping up all the bits stuck to the bottom of the tin as you go (these will add loads of great flavour to your gravy). Stirring constantly, add the cream and lemon juice, then season to taste with salt and pepper. If you like a smooth, silky gravy, pass it through a fine sieve, then serve piping hot poured over the carved chicken.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Thornwood House by Anna Romer

When Audrey Kepler's former partner, and father of her daughter Bronwyn, dies suddenly she is very surprised to find that he has left her a property in Queensland called Thornwood House.  It is where Tony grew up, but he never spoke about his childhood years in the house and he most certainly never spoke of his family.

When Audrey and Bronwyn travel from the home in Melbourne, it is purely with the intention of seeing the house so that they would be able to decide to sell the house and then continue with their lives in Melbourne.

It doesn't take long before they both feel the attraction of living in a big rambling Queenslander style home, and the decision is made that rather than sell the house, they would make the move permanent.

Audrey, in particular, is drawn to the history of the house and to the history of Tony's family, which isn't a happy one. At the end of WWII, Tony's grandfather Samuel was accused of murdering his grandmother, Aylish. They had been young lovers, who had been torn apart by war, by circumstance, and seemingly by other people's interferences. Ostracised by the town, Samuel lived a pretty solitary life but Audrey come to believe that maybe he had been treated badly.

That was not the only unfortunate death to hit Thornwood and the family, and soon Audrey finds herself searching for the truth of all of them. But can she find the truth without putting her life, or the life of her daughter, at risk.

The story unwinds through three time frames. The first, and most prominent, is the current day storyline of a young woman trying to make a new life for herself and her daughter, both of whom are working through the grieving process.

The second storyline is that of Samuel and Aylish, the doomed lovers, which plays out against the spectre of World War II and it's immediate aftermath. This story is predominantly told through a series of letters.

The third story comes from the 1980s and focuses on the tragedies that caused Tony to leave his home in the first place, and why he would never speak of his early life. This particular storyline is told mainly through the pages of a journal but also through the memories held by the people that were left behind, who are slowly becoming friends with Audrey and Bronwyn.

 I felt that the author made interesting choices with her secondary characters. Just when you thought that a character was one thing, they would turn out to have a back story that completely changed the way that you thought of them.

I also enjoyed the relationship that developed with Danny, the local vet, who also happens to be deaf. I completely understood why Audrey struggled with the idea of moving on even though she had been by herself for so long. I will probably freak out the first time I am kissed again because it has been so long for me. I should put a disclaimer on that to say if it ever happens really!

My only minor qualm with the book was in relation to the bad guy. I can't really go too much into detail without sharing fairly big spoilers, but I did find myself wondering about the motivation, and the physicality and whether the latter in particular would be possible, or more precisely, likely.

Before I read the book, I had seen it compared to other Australian authors like Kate Morton and Kimberley Freeman, and the comparison is relevant. There is that same gothicky feel that is so common to Morton's books, although I would tend to say that this might be a bit darker than some of Kate Morton's books and definitely darker than Kimberley Freeman's books. There is the dual story line, the connection to the past through various artifacts and a kind of spiritual link to the past so if you like any or all of those factors then this could be a book for you.. 

Where Romer really stands out is in her ability to describe the landscape without overwhelming the reader. For example, there is a section where one character is explaining carnivorous plants to  Bronwyn, and I found myself thinking that it shouldn't have been anywhere near as fascinating as it was!

This was an excellent debut novel and I will be looking forward to reading Anna Romer's next book with great interest.

Rating 4.5/5 

Synopsis

When Audrey Kepler inherits an abandoned homestead in rural Queensland, she jumps at the chance to escape her loveless existence in the city and make a fresh start. 

In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War Two medic - Samuel Riordan, the homestead's former occupant - and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him. 

But as Audrey digs deeper into Samuel's story, she discovers he was accused of bashing to death a young woman on his return from the war in 1946. When she learns about other unexplained deaths in recent years - one of them a young woman with injuries echoing those of the first victim - she begins to suspect that the killer is still very much alive. 

And now Audrey, thanks to her need to uncover the past, has provided him with good reason to want to kill again

Bookish Quotes: On Fear and Myths

For my first bookish quote for this year I thought I would share a quote from The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman which I read towards the end of last year.

I took a book and went out into the garden.

It was a warm spring day, and sunny, and I climbed up a rope ladder to the lowest branch of the big beech tree, sat on it, and read my book. I was not scared of anything, when I read my book: I was far away, in ancient Egypt, learning about Hathor, and how she had stalked Egypt in the form of a lioness, and she had killed so many people that the sands of Egypt turned red, and how they had only defeated her by mixing beer and honey and sleeping draughts, and dying this concoction red, so she thought it was blood, and she drank it, and fell asleep. Ra, the father of the gods, made her the goddess of love after that, so the wounds she had inflicted on people would now only be wounds of the heart.

I wondered why the gods had done that. Why hadn't they just killed her, when they had the chance?

I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than that. They just were.

Adult stories never made sense, and they were so slow to start. They made me feel like there were secrets, Masonic, mythic secrets, to adulthood. Why didn't adults want to read about Narnia, about secret islands and smugglers and dangerous fairies?

Good question!

Sunday Salon: 2013 in review

Before I get started on my review of 2013, I have a major oversight to rectify. Last week when I listed my favourite reads for the year I neglected to include one of my absolute favourite reads for the year, and it was even one that I wrote a big review for as well! That book was:

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I was the same age as the protagonists in this novel so most of the cultural references were very familiar. As fantastic as that was, it was really the strength of the writing, the development of the relationship between two people who don't quite fit into their world and the emotions that the author invoked that really made this book work for me in a big way.

Okay, now that I have that out of the way, and before I start doing the analysis for the whole year, here are the books that I read in December. For me this is a really, really small reading month which kind of follows a downward trend for the whole year

Love a Little Sideways  by Shannon Stacey 4/5
Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages  by Bill Willingham 4/5
A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift 3/5
The Sigh by Marjane Satrapi 4/5
The Night Before Christmas by Kelly Hunter 3/5
What the Bride Didn't Know by Kelly Hunter 4/5
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman by 4
The Girl in the Yellow Vest by Loretta Hill 4/5
The Kissing Season by Rachael Johns  3.5/5
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 4.5/5 (audiobook)
       
The highlight of the month was Wolf Hall. I bought it when it first came out but then I heard such mixed reports about it. I never quite got around to reading it when someone said that the audio was awesome and it was! I highly recommend the audio version if you haven't read the book yet, or if you want to revisit it!

In terms of challenges, the Kelly Hunter books, The Girl in the Yellow vest and The Kissing Season were all by Australian women authors so round out my participation in the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2013. I will be participating in the challenge again this year.

So let's get stuck into some stats.

After my record breaking year in 2012 where I read 291 books, this year was comparatively low given that I ended up reading 219 books in total. Whilst some of these books were shorter than others, there were also some monster books in there including the first three Game of Thrones books plus Les Miserables so there is more than 4000 pages just in those books! All up, I read 67242 pages. Obviously this is a big drop from last year. Of these, 77 authors were new to me.

I mentioned before that my reading has decreased and you can quite clearly see that reduction when you look at the total month by month. My best month was February when I read 30 books and the worst December where I only read 10.
 

There is probably one major factor that has caused this reduction. Back in May I started driving to work. Initially it was only going to be for a few days, and then only certain days of the week but the reality is that I have probably only caught the train maybe half a dozen times since then. Given that the train is basically 45 minutes of reading time each way that is more than 7 hours a week in reading time lost. It makes a difference.

What I have been doing whilst I have been doing the drive to and from work is listening to audio books. Last year I listened to just two audiobooks, although one of those was a big one, but this year it was more than 20. This does take into consideration the fact that I listened to Richard Armitage narrate Venetia by Georgette Heyer at least three times, On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta twice, and The Piper's Son, also by Melina Marchetta, three times too. What can I say? They were all very good aural experiences!

The other thing in terms of formats is that I am actually now pretty close to reading equal amounts of ebooks and paper books.

 

So, I have talked about the number of books read and the formats I read them in, so lets have a look at the graphical representation of the grades of the books that I read. Overall, it was a pretty good year. As usual, my go to grade is 4/5 but there was a pleasing number of grades higher than that.

One of the things that I look at each year is the gender balance of my reading. My natural tendency is definitely towards female authors and this year was no different. I am not sure whether I should be bothered by the fact that only 14% of my reading is by male authors or just let it go!

My genre reading stayed pretty consistent with previous years. Romance tends to dominate with general fiction, historical fiction and YA tend to dominate. Within romance, contemporary titles continue to dominate my reading, followed by historical fiction. My paranormal romance reading has dropped right down with only one title in this category. This is a distinct change from a few years ago.

A few other little stats.

My participation in the Australian Women Writers Challenge continues to influence my reading in a big way. This year, 66 of the books I read were by Australian authors, with the vast majority of those being by female authors. It is hard to believe that it is only a couple of years since I was happy to just read 10 books by Aussie authors!

This year I reread 9 books. As mentioned some of this was listening to a couple of audio books more than once.

Every year one of the goals that I include for the year is to read more of the books that I already owned as at the beginning of the year. This year I managed 11 books which is a lot less than I actually acquired, but nothing new there.

Next week I will talk about my reading resolutions for 2014 including the challenges that I will be participating in!

Currently reading

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, For Your Eyes Only by Sandra Antonelli and listening to Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta.

Up Next

Delicious by Nicky Pellegrino

Sunday Salon: Best of 2013

I don't know about you but I find it a little disconcerting to see how early some of the best of the year lists stay coming out.  I guess it is a bit like Christmas decorations appearing in the shops in October or Easter stuff starting to appear now. It just feels far too early to declare best books of the year in October! That's still a couple of months of potential awesome reads!  Now that there is just two days to go in the year I think it is safe to share my best books of the year!

These are listed more or less in the order I read them.

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

It is no great secret that I am a bit of a Susanna Kearsley fan girl.  I am not sure what it is exactly but her voice, the stories she chooses to tell, the dual time frames, the characters, the relationships and more really work for me. I actually started this book at the end of last year but I deliberately dragged the reading of it out because I wanted it to be one of the first books I finished this year!

Easy by Tammara Webber

I had heard a lot of good things about this book but I was still blown away by how much I loved it.  I have borrowed one of this author's other books but I had to return it unread!  Maybe next year!

The Best Man Kristin Higgins

Sometimes you just get lucky and read the perfect book for you right at that exact moment and I think that is what happened with this book. I have read most of Higgins back list and liked a lot of them but I must confess that I prefer her later books where she moved away from the first person narrative where you never got inside the heroes head to third person.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Well this is a first! This is a book that I had on my best of list last year. This year I reread it (unusual in itself) and still loved it even though I already knew the story!

Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman

A few years ago I saw that Paullina Simons blurbed one of Kimberley Freeman's earlier books but I didn't end up reading it. Last year I finally read one of Freeman's books,  Wildflower Hill, and liked it a lot,  but I was totally engaged with this book.  I have now read my way through her back list and have her latest book here to read soon.

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

If I had to pick just one author as my discovery of the year it would be Melina Marchetta! I had been told to read her for a long time and all those people were right! I actually listened to this one on audio twice. I gave the first listen 4.5/5 because the first portion of the book was a bit confusing but on the second go around I was very impressed with the way that there were many important clues to what was going on.  Oh and there was a crush on a way too young character too!

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

In between Jellicoe I listened to Saving Francesca which I really liked. This book features the same characters that are in Saving Francesca but it was this story which had me feeling all the emotions on all three occasions that I listened to the audio!

I will hopefully be able to post all my 2013 stats next week. Might have to try and write at least some of that post when I go back to work so I can do all the analysis on something bigger than my tablet screen!

Currently Reading

Thornwood House by Anna Romer and listening to Finnickin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (yes, her again)

Up next

I am not really sure. I really need to take a look at library due dates etc!

Weekend Cooking: Year in review

One thing that I like to do occasionally is look back through posts that I have written,  and that is particularly true of Weekend Cooking posts.  It is kind of funny what you remember posting and what you don't,  or what you think you first posted this year but really it was much longer than that.

I thought that today I would  do a little year in review type post covering a few different categories that I am going to make up as I go along.

Let's start with an easy category and that is most requested recipe!  I kind of feel like I am cheating a little bit by including it in this year's posts because I first shared the recipe last year but this is definitely the recipe that I have been asked for most this year.  Every time I make them and give them to people who haven't tried them before they want to know how to make them. The bonus is that they are really easy to make.  The hardest thing is really zesting the lemons!

Kate Bracks' Lemon Syrup Cakes

The where did that come from category goes to the Food Fight post that was inspired by a music video!

The next category is a two for the price of one deal. Not only is it the post that took me longest to put together, but I think it is also the Weekend Cooking post from this year that I am most proud of.  When I first thought of the idea of comparing the book A Trifle Dead by Livia Day, I thought it was a fun idea but it did take me forever to write that post (although this one might overtake it given that I am having to write it on my tablet!)

One thing I did start doing this year is watching some foreign foodie movies which has been mostly enjoyable.  If I had to pick a favourite sequence it would be the last 20 minutes of Chicken with Plums which was based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.

A couple of stats based shout outs. The most visited Weekend Cooking post was my review of Jamie's 15 Minute Meals and the most commented on post (counting my responses to people) was early on in the year when I posted about Tim Tam Slams.

I haven't been quite as consistent with my participation as I have been normally or as I would like so for the last couple of categories I bring you the best post I have started but not managed to finish yet. That goes to my review of the delightful French movie Romantics Anonymous.  I have started the review,  and watched the movie several times in anticipation of finishing the review.  Maybe I will watch it again in a couple of days to refresh my memory.  It will be fabulous when I write it.

My final category is the recipe that I need to post so I don't lose it,  and that is a recipe for Spanish Style Tuna Bake. There was another recipe that I made a few times that meant to post too but now I can't remember what it was. Better post that tuna recipe soon before I forget that one too.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends, near and far!

Christmas Quotes: Christmas on Rue Tatin

Today's quote comes from On Rue Tatin, which is a book about the author moving to a small town in France. It wasn't all smooth sailing, especially with some of the neighbours!

A couple of weeks later Michael began decorating the house for Christmas. He hung cedar boughs over ever door and window, then wove tiny white lights through them. He lit up our gnarled apple tree and hung multi-coloured lights in the two tiny-paned windows in Joe's room. I made and hung a giant wreath on our gate, festooning it with gold beads and a big red bow and we put candles at all the windows. Since our house is right in the centre of town across from the church we felt a certain obligation to decorate sumptuously.

Once the outside of the house was done we put a tree (which we didn't buy at the florists because we were too cowardly), decorated it and the rest of the interior by hanging decorations and boughs from the raw beams, on the ragged brick fireplace and on the not yet plastered walls. Our windows have tiny panes in them and most are curtainless, so the golden glow within was easily observed from without, and the house looked like a fairy tale dwelling, standing out starkly from the shops and apartments around it, which were more modestly decorated. We knew it was appreciated because we saw cars slow down and necks crane, and more than one person came with a camera and stood out front clicking away.

I have always baked a variety of cookies for Christmas and being in France didn't change that, even with the wealth of bakeries at our fingertips. I am a firm believer in tradition - ours and others - and I didn't see how it would be Christmas without Christmas cookies. Joe and I took an afternoon to mix, roll and decorate. Then we filled several gaily decorated cellophane bags and delivered them to the florists, the cafe owners, the crew at Chez Clet, Brigitte from the gift shop, and the family who ran the real estate agency across the street, along with an explanation of their place in our Christmas tradition. I was taking Claude's suggestion seriously.

Two days before Christmas, while I was baking, Michael was working and Joe was playing in the chilly entryway, Joe ran to get me. "Mama, there's someone at the door, those two ladies," he said with his lisp. I went to the door, wiping my hands on my apron. Michael, in his studio, had heard Joe and he emerged as well. It was dark already, and I switched on the outdoor light and opened the door. There, framed by the light in our doorway, were the twin sisters, a huge bouquet in their hands. They didn't say anything and just stood there. I was stunned and unsure of what to do, so we had a stand off for a moment, then they handed me the bouquet.

I had tears in my eyes and they did too. Michael, standing back just a bit, was equally moved. We didn't say anything. Finally, I said, "Merci," and they said simply, "Bon Noel." They handed Joe a little gift, shook our hands and were gone. We stayed in the doorway looking after them.

I looked at Michael, who looked back at me. "The rolls and the cookies. They worked," he said, smiling. We all felt as if a miracle had occurred, a cultural breakthrough that would improve the quality of our daily lives. Our first Christmas on Rue Tatin could not have offered us more.

That Christmas was a watershed, and none of us has ever looked back. Over subsequent years we've developed a close relationship with the florists, and found them to be warm and loving neighbours. Year round they bring us bouquets of flowers that they can't sell but still have many days of life in them. I take them cookies, or cakes, or whatever I am baking when it's something really special. Their grandchildren come over occasionally to play with Joe and even nice to Jonquil, their German Shepherd, though in my heart of hearts I am sure she is going to attack me one day.

Ironically, last Christmas found us urging them to store their Christmas trees in our backyard, as their usual storage area was damaged. It's easier now, of course, since we all know and appreciate each other, but still I had a quiet laugh about it.

Sunday Salon: Yes, it is a first world problem but...

I am a little bit upset today because yesterday my laptop stopped functioning.  Whilst this doesn't mean that I am entirely without resources,  it does mean that for the foreseeable future I am going to be blogging from my tablet,  the prospect of which doesn't precisely fill me with joy.

While I will most likely take it to a shop to get looked at to see if it can be repaired the reality is that it is about 6 or 7 years old and had been chugging along for a while now. The other reality is that I can't afford to just go out and buy a new one and it is probably going to be a while before I can.  Santa certainly won't be bringing me one because even though I practically live like a nun (well except for my potty mouth) that isn't enough to qualify me as a good girl!

I use my tablet for all sorts of things but blogging is not normally one of those things.  I tried to do the Virtual Advent post last night but trying to copy and paste text was a nightmare so assuming that I do keep posting I may have to change the way I blog. Even
just getting the Sunday Salon badge into this post was difficult.  I ended up having to copy the whole of the HTML  for my last SS post and then delete everything else in order to just be left with the image I wanted!

I was wondering though about the various apps that are available. Is anyone using any apps like the Blogger app in order to help them blog using their phone or tablets.  Looking at the reviews the official Blogger app had terrible reviews so maybe there is something else out there that is better.

I was intending to do a best books of the year list today but that will have to wait until next week now.  Maybe by then I will have figured or an easier way to do this blogging thing!

Currently reading

Right as Rain by Trish Stringer. Listening to Finnickin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Next up

Thornwood House by Anna Romer

Christmas Quotes: Henry and Anne

Over the last couple of weeks I have been listening to the audio version of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and have loved the audio version! I know, I am about 3 years behind every one else in reading this book but what can I say....better later than never! I won't be waiting 3 years to read the follow up book!

Today's quote comes from this book and, of course, features Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

At Whitehall - York Place, as it was - the builders are still in. For Christmas, the king had given Anne a bedroom. He led her to it himself, to see her gasp at the wall hangings, which were of cloth of silver and cloth of gold, the carved bed hung with crimson satin embroidered with images of flowers and children. Henry Norris had reported to him that Anne had failed to gasp; she had just looked around the room slowly, smiled, blinked. Then she had remembered what she ought to do; she pretended to feel faint at the honor, and it was only when she swayed and the king locked his arms around her that the gasp came. I do devoutly hope, Norris had said, that we shall all at least once in our lives cause a woman to utter that sound.

When Anne had expressed her thanks, kneeling, Henry had to leave, of course; to leave the shimmering room, trailing her by the hand, and go back to the New Year's Feast, to the public scrutiny of his expression: in the certainty that news of it would by conveyed all over Europe, by land and sea, in and out of cypher.

Christmas Quotes: Christmas at Morland

Today's Christmas quote comes from The Chevalier by Cynthia Harrod- Eagles, the seventh book in the Morland series which follows the fortunes of the Morland family through from the days of the Plantagenets through to the 20th century.

I liked this passage because I like the idea of being able to watch such a scene unfold. Wouldn't like to be the cook, or live like this all the time, but just once it would be fun!

Everything was done in the best of style, and the food was both lavish and elegant. Most of the servants liked and admired India, but the cook positively worshipped her, for under Clovis's direction, during Matt's minority, there had been little scope for his skills. Food at Morland Place had been plentiful, but plain and wholesome, no canvas for a great artist. This Christmas, inspired by India, he excelled himself. The centrepiece of the whole season's feasting was the colossal Twelfth-Night cake, which was three feet in diameter and decorated to be a perfect miniature of Morland Place in beautiful detail, right down to the marzipan peacocks who spread their paper tails on the sugar drawbridge.

As well as the feasting, there was of course music and entertainment of all kinds, all the favourite Christmas games and, every night, dancing. India danced with the best of them, and Matt, though he could hardly get a dance himself with his own wife, stood at the side of the room and watched with pride and love as she flew tirelessly up and down the sets, conspicuous in her peacock-blue satin, with the Queen's Emeralds glittering at her throat.

Weekend Cooking: Sue's Christmas Pudding

As I have done in previous years, I am sharing some Christmassy quotes that I have saved up throughout the year. Given that this quote has a bit of a foodie related feel to it, it is doubling up as a Weekend Cooking post as well. For today's post I am sharing a passage from Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole. This is an epistolary novel, so the quote is part of a letter from David, a young man who lives in Chicago to his friend Elspeth (who he calls Sue... you will need to read the book to find out why) who lives on the Isle of Skye

If you are interesting in finding out more, you can read my review of this book here. A couple of years ago now I shared my sister's recipe for Christmas Puddings if you are interested.

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A
January 12, 1914

A Happy New Year to you, Sue!

You're right, you do make a marvellous Christmas pudding! It's similar to the fruitcake my mother insists on making for us each Christmas. The woman doesn't set  foot into the kitchen all year, unless it's to make a last-minute change to the menu. But every year, as the Christmas season approaches, she dons a lace-edged apron about as effective as a paper cake doily and waves all the staff out of the kitchen. Mother emerges hours later, air floured, a smear of molasses on her cheek, and a shine in her eyes that could only be brought about by "sampling" the brandy, but victoriously bearing a fruitcake. It generally has the appearance, texture, and taste of a paving stone, but we must all eat a hearty slice on Christmas Eve.

The joy we had this year, Sue, was eating your delightful Christmas pudding. Both Evie and Hank insisted on examining the box you'd sent, to make sure I wasn't holding out on them. Even my father begged for more. When my mother asked, with the air of a jealous mistress, how this pudding compared to her fruitcake, we were quick to reassure her. "Oh, the Christmas pudding is good, but it's very...you know... British." We left it to her to to interpret just what that meant.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Blog Tour: The Tribe series by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Today I am super excited to welcome Ambelina Kwaymullina back to my blog as part of the blog our to celebrate the release of The Disappearance of Ember Crow, the second book in The Tribe series. Last time she was here, Ambelin wrote an awesome guest post on diversity. This time, I got the opportunity to ask her a few questions!

I originally found the first book in The Tribe series when I was specifically looking for a spec fic book by an Aboriginal woman writer. My search was was much harder than I expected it to be as I could find very few books that fit into those criteria. How difficult was it to sell this series to a publisher?

Not difficult at all – but I went to the right publisher. I knew some of the people at Walker Books, and because of that I knew that they would understand and embrace the story.

Stereotypes of Aboriginal stories, and people, are an issue, both in writing and in everyday life. I know I’m far from the only Aboriginal person to have encountered an odd phenomenon whereby random non-Aboriginal people – often people I’ve just met – feel they have the right to aggressively interrogate my identity, as if they are the self-appointed administrators of some kind of Aboriginality test. It’s distressing – and it’s ridiculous. I know many people from many different cultures and countries, and I can’t say it’s ever occurred to me to criticise my Scottish friends for failing to wear kilts, or to expect anyone who comes from Sweden to be able to direct me to the nearest Ikea store. Yet a surprising number of people seem to have somehow gotten the idea that they are entitled to tell me who I am and who my people are, generally within five minutes of first meeting me.

A couple of my Aboriginal friends have asked me if I was worried about how the book would be received, precisely because it doesn’t fit the mould of what some people might expect an Aboriginal story to be. I never had any concerns about my teenage readers; I did wonder a bit about the grown ups. I needn’t have. The story has been wonderfully well received and for that I feel I must chiefly thank the bloggers. Aussie bloggers have universally assessed the story on its own terms and not by reference to any preconceived stereotypes; and to have the chance to discuss the cultural aspects of the story with some of them has been a privilege and a joy.

So to all the bloggers: a heartfelt thanks from me.

What came first for you - the characters of Ashala Wolf and her friends or the plot?

I heard Ashala’s voice, and I followed it, and her – through the cold hallways of the detention centre, and amongst the trees of the Firstwood. I walked at her side, feeling what she felt and seeing what she saw; she and I experienced the story together.

I love the way that the plot twists and turns in your books? There are definitely "I didn't see that coming" moments for me as a reader but those moments all still make complete sense in terms of the plot and the characters. Does that happen to you as you are writing and how do you keep track of all the twists?

There’s a couple of moments, especially in The Disappearance of Ember Crow, when even as I was writing them I was freaking out a bit in my head. Because I wrote the books in the order that you read them, I am often discovering something when the reader does – there where lots of occasions when I knew something had to be in the book but I didn’t know the reason why until much, much later. For example, I knew, from the very first chapter of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, that Ash never calls Justin Connor ‘Justin’; he is always Connor, to her. And I knew that he never, ever shortened her name; she is always Ashala, to him. But I didn’t know why, and in many ways the reason for that – which doesn’t come out until much later in the book - defines their entire relationship.

You have written a lot of childrens books and picture books before this series. How hard was it to make the transition into dystopian YA?

I think the picture books really helped me, because picture books are a hard lesson in telling a story in not a lot of words; and that ability to convey meaning in fewer words is marvellously helpful when it comes to keeping up the pace in a longer story. I guess I didn’t find the transition that difficult because I’ve been working on various novels for a long time; I have an entire box full of half finished books in my wardrobe (they’re all rubbish. Trust me). So in my head I was always writing longer books – even when I didn’t have anything finished to show for it!

In your dystopian world some of the characters have special skills. What would your special skill be? And what would you miss most about your current life if you had to live in the Firstwood?

If I was living in the Firstwood … I would miss books, I think. It’s a hard place to have a library, although I would have Ember to tell me stories. As to a special skill – I’m Ashala, when I write, so I have to be a Sleepwalker, like she is. I guess that means I have the power the change the world in my dreams; to remake it into what I wish it could be. Perhaps my books are my dreams, and in them, I imagine an unjust world transformed by an alliance of good-hearted people. Ashala speaks of fight at the end of The Disappearance of Ember Crow that is more important than any that has gone before, only it is not a battle between the Citizens and Illegals of her world. It is a battle between those who want to stop hating, and those who do not.

We have that fight in this reality too. I know which side I’m on.

I am so excited to see that books 3 and 4 in the series have titles. Can you give us a bit of a clue of what comes next for Ashala, Ember and their friends.

Yeah, you don’t really want me to tell you that. Then where would the surprises be? But we are heading to the end now; the stakes are higher for all concerned, in the books that are to come. All of our existing friends are back, and there will be new ones as well. Things become more complex, more intense, and more dangerous. And Ash, in the third and fourth books, is going to face a test harder than any that has gone before. Her concept of leadership at this point is to stand between her Tribe and her forest whatever danger threatens. She is going to find it far more difficult to accept that others will choose to stand between her and danger – and pay the price for it.

And what comes next for Ambelin Kwaymullina?

After The Tribe? I have an idea for a trilogy set in the same world but with different characters, and once that’s done, a new, six book series set in an entirely new reality.

I’m not short on stories. Just time.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions Ambelin.


Be sure to check out the next stop in the tour which is at Lauren's Loquacious Literature or start from the beginning of the tour and follow it through.